THE STOCKTON CITY COUNCIL has unanimously ordered a moratorium on smoke retailers after listening to stories of tobacco merchandise being bought to minors or shops carrying banned merchandise, similar to flavored vapes or cannabis-related industrial hemp.
The council’s 45-day moratorium, permitted at its March 4 assembly, features a prohibition towards new smoke retailers in addition to a ban on the enlargement or relocation of present ones. The order is supposed as a holding sample whereas the town considers more durable rules.
Councilmembers complained that some smoke retailers are too near locations the place youth congregate, similar to faculties or parks. One enterprise, for example, is near Edison Excessive Faculty, they stated.
A few of the retailers have their home windows coated over, in violation of present regulation, whereas others seem to not be licensed.
Presently, metropolis regulation features a requirement that each one smoke retailers or different shops in Stockton promoting tobacco have a tobacco retail license when renewing their enterprise license. These retailers discovered to not be compliance could be fined greater than $1,000 and have their tobacco license revoked.
“We have simply allowed this, unbeknownst to us, to allow this to get so far out of control,” Mayor Christina Fugazi stated. “Our children are not for sale.”
An educator along with being mayor, Fugazi stated she has seen first-hand how simply college students have gained entry to cannabis-related or flavored tobacco merchandise, which had been outlawed in California in 2022. A brand new state regulation that took impact Jan. 1 features a listing of “permissibly unflavored” tobacco merchandise allowed on retailer cabinets.
Inspections and reinspections
Fugazi urged that Stockton’s legal guidelines be enhanced, suggesting that each smoke store be inspected at the least every year. If discovered to have a violation, the shops ought to be rechecked inside a particular time, similar to three months, she stated.
And a enterprise’ annual license payment ought to cowl the price of enforcement.
Metropolis Legal professional Lori Asuncion stated different cities have taken related measures, together with the clear differentiation between smoke retailers and different tobacco retailers like grocery shops.
Some cities have elevated the minimal distance between a smoke store and locations the place children congregate — like park or faculties — to 1,000 toes. The rule is 600 toes in Stockton.
There even have been limits positioned on the variety of retailers allowed in a specific space.
Stockton has 78 smoke retailers “and more coming” among the many 163 retailers licensed to promote tobacco merchandise, Asuncion stated.
Councilmembers famous that the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors additionally just lately appeared able to enact a moratorium on new smoke retailers. The council stated the identical is required in Stockton.
“While we are not attacking smoke shops, this is in the right direction of making our city healthier,” Vice Mayor Jason Lee stated.
This story initially appeared in Stocktonia.
